Lemon Chicken Orzo Pasta
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Lemon chicken orzo pasta with feta, artichoke hearts, fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes in lemon and olive oil dressing is a easy and quick enough for busy weeknights. It’s also perfect as a bbq side dish or luncheon. It’s a great way to repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken or even turkey after a holiday meal.
Ingredients for lemon chicken orzo pasta
This simple recipe gets it’s tang from plenty of lemon juice and fresh zest. Leftover Roast Lemon Chicken would be a perfect in this recipe.
- orzo pasta
- feta cheese
- artichoke hearts (canned in water or marinated)
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- Fresh oregano
- Fresh parsley
- lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
- cooked skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- olive oil
How to make lemon orzo chicken
You’ll need pre-cooked chicken and cooked orzo. Don’t let the orzo cook past al dente, as it will continue to cook as it cools. Skip the “Italian” seasoning and stick with fresh herbs! If you don’t have cooked chicken, poach chicken cutlets in water or chicken broth over medium heat for 10 minutes until chicken is just cooked and has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Allow chicken to cool to room temperature before shredding.
- Toss cooled orzo with olive oil, fresh lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Add feta, quartered artichoke hearts, shredded or diced chicken, fresh herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add halved or quartered cherry tomatoes.
- Chill until ready to serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Substitutions and variations
- For a gluten free version, substitute cooked rice for the pasta.
- Add a handful of fresh baby spinach.
- Substitute fresh basil for the oregano and parsley.
- Substitute goat or parmesan cheese for the feta cheese.
- Substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs for chicken breast.
More easy weeknight dinners
- Greek Pasta with lemon, yogurt and fresh garlic.
- Fresh Tomato Pasta ready in under 20 minutes!
- Mexican Chicken Soup is another great way to repurpose leftover chicken.
- Tuscan Tortellini Soup a delicious and easy one-pot meal using store-bought tortellini.
- Stove Top Mac and Cheese is so much better than the box!
More side dishes
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Cilantro Rice
- Quinoa Tabbouleh with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley.
- Potato Salad
Lemon Chicken Orzo Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried orzo cooked (1 cup)
- 8 ounces chicken breast shredded or diced (3 cups)
- 8 ounces feta crumbled
- 14 ounce can artichoke hearts drained
- 5 ounces cherry tomatoes halved (1 cup)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lemons zest and juice
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
Instructions
- Cook orzo to al dente according to package directions. Drain and cool to room temperature.
- Toss pasta with olive oil, zest and juice of lemon, shredded chicken, fresh herbs and feta. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
- Add cherry tomatoes and gently toss. Add more lemon if necessary.
- Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Nutrition
I love your recipes and I would so appreciate being able to print them without the photos, all on one page. do you think you could have this fixed like on other cooking websites?
Thanks. this sounds delicious!
Annie, I will look into that! I’ve been thinking about adding a “printer friendly” widget…thanks for the “nudge”! Where are you reading me from? Thanks! Cynthia
Annie! Done!
I love the print friendly widget! It is so helpful. Thanks
Good! I figured out how to add that myself! I’m getting very ‘techy’! 😉